Clara (Dall) Gustafson, 98, of Harrison, ID (formerly of Cook, MN), died at her home on August 2, 2019, with her loving daughter, Donna, and faithful dog, Daisy, by her side.

Clara spent the first 95 years of her life in Silverdale/Cook, MN. She was born in Silverdale, MN, on August 14, 1920, the youngest of seven children. At age 16, she moved to Cook to become a waitress at Ardeen's Café, where she met her future husband, Walter Gustafson.

Walter was drafted in WWII, and upon his return to Cook following the war, Clara and Walter were married on February 12th, 1944. They purchased a home and 40 acres in rural Cook, where they raised their son and three daughters. Clara was a loving caretaker, and she took care of her parents until they passed away in the 1950s. Husband, Walter, built her parents a home next door, so Clara could care for her parents, while also raising their own children.

Once her children were school aged, Clara worked outside the home in various jobs within the Cook area, but her main employment began at the Cook Hospital in 1958. She worked in the laundry, and was an exemplary, dedicated employee and coworker. She was instrumental in unionizing the hospital so employees would earn a livable wage, and receive health and welfare benefits. During her 48-year working career at the hospital, she continued to strive to improve conditions for blue collar workers.  As gentle, kind, and loving as Clara was, she always fought for the underdog, and she never gave up on anything that she felt was worth fighting for.

Clara was a wonderful mother to her children, as well as being a loving second mom to her special niece, Joyce, who spent many years living with Clara and Walter. Clara loved being affectionately referred to as "Auntie Clara" by all the Gustafson and Dall nieces and nephews who frequented her home. Many came in the winter to slide down the hill, and there would be hot cocoa, popcorn, and cookies for all. In the summer, nieces and nephews would come to the frog pond in the sand pit playground and ride horses. Room was always available for as many kids as would like to stay for extended periods of time. Nephew, Jerry, and nieces, Vivy and Janis, liked to stay all summer long, as Auntie Clara would take all the kids swimming in Lake Vermilion.

Her home was her "castle", she lived there from 1944 until 2015. With it's circular driveway, large lawns and garden space, there was plenty to keep Clara busy outdoors, and that was where she loved to be. She never had a lock on her door, it was always open to anyone. She mowed her lawn with a small power mower, until her loving nephew Kenny brought her a riding mower. She felt nervous about driving it, but quickly caught on that it saved time. In the fall she would order 12 cords of wood for winter heat. Grandson Brad would bring over his log splitter, it would take her about two weeks for her to split her winter wood. She hauled it by wheelbarrow into her woodshed, stacking it neatly for the upcoming winter. Spring was the time she scraped and repainted her house. The local hardware store told her she needed permission from her kids to buy an extension ladder....we knew Mom, if they would not sell her a ladder, she would build some scary scaffolding.

On St. Patricks Day, Gladyce and Clara gathered at her home for their annual 200 tomato seed planting project. This was in preparation for the Memorial Day weekend when friends stopped by to pick up tomato plants for their gardens. Clara loved "to watch things grow"; Kristen and Nicole would dig in the dirt with Grandma, planting vegetable seeds and picking produce in the fall. Clara picked raspberries on her gravel pit banks, always counting how many raspberries it took to fill her bowl. She loved picking blueberries with granddaughters Kristen and Nicole, but had a fear of getting lost in the woods.

After Clara raised her own children, she became a wonderful grandmother to 7 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Three of her grandchildren, Bradley, Kristen, and Nicole, lived nearby, and they soon discovered that there was "no place like Grandma's." Grandma was patient, she spoiled kids, she loved to bake goodies, and she always let you lick the bowl! Kristen and Nicole were only 10 and 12 years old, when Grandma thought they should learn to drive. The fun they had behind the steering wheel, up and down the 1/2-mile dirt road with their instructor, Grandma on the seat beside them giving them instructions. Grandma was an expert at softball, she was the pitcher for her team when she was in school. Kristen, Nicole and Grandma had many great times playing softball on her lawn.

Clara had a great sense of humor, and she loved music and dancing. She enjoyed playing her piano, while teaching her children to sing hymns. Senior citizen trips to Branson, MO, were dear to her heart, and dancing to live polka music at Sabin's, in Chisholm, was a favorite pastime for Clara and her best friend, Gladyce. Clara loved dressing up, when the Cook Thrift Shop asked her and Gabby Pihlaja to be models for their style show she was thrilled. These two were partners in "crime", fun was the name of the game. She and Gladyce particularly enjoyed dressing up as chickens to perform the humorous chicken dance for nursing home residents. They loved sharing humor, and spreading joy to others!

Clara loved birthday parties. Every five years, an event was planned in Cook to celebrate her birthday, at which she would request live dance music. Prior to her relocating to Idaho in 2015, 225 friends and family members came to Clara's 95th birthday celebration at the VFW in Cook.

Clara was an animal lover, she told stories of riding her cow home from school. When she was a teenager, she raised a newborn fawn to adulthood in the family dining room. If there was a dog in Cook whose master passed away, Clara gave it a loving home.

Sunday morning church services were rarely missed by Clara, who was a lifetime member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cook. She most recently attended Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d'Alene, ID.  She also supported the Lutheran Church in Silverdale, MN, where she was baptized and confirmed.  Her strong Christian faith was a pillar of her strength. She loved making doughnuts to serve with coffee at church, and she was well known in both Cook, MN, and Harrison, ID, for krumkake, rosettes, pasties, and homemade lemon pies.

As Clara's hearing started to fail, phone conversations began to dwindle, but that did not stop her communicating with friends and loved ones. She began writing lengthy letters, and waited anxiously each day for return correspondence. She often placed three stamps on her letters, to make certain they would not be returned for lack of postage.

Clara was known as "The Poppy Lady" in Cook. She sold VFW Poppies in Cook from the end of WWII through this last May, missing only two years when her children were ill. She was generally considered the top seller, as it was difficult to get past her without buying a poppy. She was a true patriot and volunteer, and was a lifetime Ladies Auxiliary member of Post 1757 in Cook, serving in many officer positions over the years. Clara also served as an AEOA volunteer for the Cook Area Nutrition Site for over 12 years. She had the honor of being a Grand Marshal in Cook's Timber Days Parade, riding in son Dale's classic Corvette convertible.

Clara was an avid newspaper reader, and after moving to Idaho, she continued subscribing to three Minnesota newspapers, to keep track of friends back home. She loved to play cards, and to watch Wheel of Fortune and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Jigsaw puzzles were her favorite hobby, and her good friend, Lori, would bring her new ones, so they could enjoy their common pastime together.

Son-in-law, Richard Ruhl, and daughter, Donna, were blessed to share 10 years of loving care with Clara/Mom in their home. Her wish of never having to spend a day in a nursing home came true!

Clara was preceded in death by her husband, Walter; parents, Drier and Jenny Dall; daughter, Nancy Perala; granddaughter, Kristen Gustafson; sisters Alice Mair, Mildred Stanke, and Irene Nelson; brothers Frank Moe, George Dall, and Roy Dall (infant); niece, Joyce Gustafson; and lifelong friends, Gladyce Snell and Diana Woitel.

Clara is survived by her daughters, Lois Hughes (Joe) and Donna Ruhl (Richard); son, Dale Gustafson; grandsons Bradley Perala (Jena), and Dean Johnson; granddaughters Lisa Hughes (Robert Klenk), Heidi Cederstrand (Eric), Kelli Petersen (Greg), and Nicole Gustafson. Great grandchildren Blake and Alec Perala, Ross Hanstad, Chase, Alexis and Savanna DeChaney, Cole, Carly and Tate Cederstrand; Svea, Draven and Simon Gustafson, Jacob and Lilyana Petersen; and many special kind, loving nieces and nephews from the Dall and Gustafson sides of her family. Special friends Joan Beamish of Idaho and Greta Jeske of Lake Vermilion.

A visitation will be held on Friday, August 23, 2019 from 6-8 PM at Mlaker Funeral Home, Cook, MN. The Memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 1:00 PM at Trinity Lutheran Church, Cook, MN. Visitation will be held again one hour prior to the service at the church. To leave an online condolence visit www.mlakerfuneralhome.com